Component of a molding system for cooling a molded article

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein, amongst other things is a component of a molding system (e.g. mold component, post-mold component, etc.) having a heat dissipater that is configured to impart a profiled heat removal rate on a selected portion of a molded article that generally matches a heat distribution therein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/409,076 filed Dec. 18, 2014, which is the U.S. National Stage ofPCT/CA2013/050420 filed May 31, 2013, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional patent application 61/662,616 filed 21 Jun. 2012 and U.S.Provisional patent application 61/663,072 filed 22 Jun. 2012, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Non-Limiting embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to acomponent of a molding system for cooling a molded article.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the present invention is to provide a component of amolding system including a heat dissipater that is configured to imparta profiled heat removal rate on a selected portion of a molded articlethat generally matches a heat distribution therein.

A second aspect of the present invention is to provide a mold stack,including one of more components of a molding system including a heatdissipater that is/are configured to impart a profiled heat removal rateon a selected portion of a molded article that generally matches a heatdistribution therein.

A third aspect of the present invention is to provide a method ofcooling a molded article, comprising cooling a selected portion of amolded article with a component of a molding system, wherein a heatdissipater therein imparts a profiled heat removal rate on the selectedportion of the molded article that generally matches a heat distributiontherein.

These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments willnow become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of thefollowing description of specific non-limiting embodiments of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The non-limiting embodiments will be more fully appreciated by referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a section view through a component of a molding systemaccording to a first non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a section view through a component of a molding systemaccording to a second non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a section view through a component of a molding systemaccording to a third non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of a molded article that is configuredas a preform of the type that is blow moldable to form a container;

FIG. 5 depicts a section view through a neck portion of the preform ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic representation of a molding system accordingto a non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts a section view through a mold stack for use in a moldaccording to a non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 8 depicts a section view through a component (i.e. split insert) ofa mold stack according to a fourth non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 9 depicts a section view through a component (i.e. split insert) ofa mold stack according to a fifth non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 10 depicts a section view through a component (i.e. split insert)of a mold stack according to a sixth non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 11 depicts a side view of a component (i.e. core insert) of a moldinsert according to a seventh non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 12 depicts a section view through a component (i.e. interfacecomponent) of a mold stack according to an eighth non-limitingembodiment;

FIG. 13 depicts a section view through several components (i.e.post-mold components) of a post-mold device according to a ninthnon-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 14 depicts a flow chart of a method of cooling a molded article.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated byphantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. Incertain instances, details that are not necessary for an understandingof the embodiments or that render other details difficult to perceivemay have been omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) Introduction

Reference will now be made in detail to various non-limitingembodiment(s) of various components of a molding system with which toprovide profiled cooling of a selected portion of a molded article, suchas, for example, a neck portion of a preform of the type that is blowmoldable into a container. It should be understood that othernon-limiting embodiment(s), modifications and equivalents will beevident to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the non-limitingembodiment(s) disclosed herein and that these variants should beconsidered to be within scope of the appended claims.

Furthermore, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the artthat certain structural and operational details of the non-limitingembodiment(s) discussed hereafter may be modified or omitted (i.e.non-essential) altogether. In other instances, well known methods,procedures, and components have not been described in detail.

Contemporary components of a molding system (e.g. mold components,post-mold components, etc.) for cooling a molded article do not trulytake into consideration the actual part geometry. A mold component maybe considered to be a component of a mold (i.e. a part of the moldingsystem that defines a molding cavity within which to mold the moldedarticle). A post-mold component may be considered to be a component of apost-mold device (i.e. a part of the molding system that operates tocool the molded article outside of the mold).

Even a mold component having so-called conforming cooling, such as thatdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,930 to Niewels, would provide for onlylimited improvement as it would attempt to remove the same heat fromthin and thick sections of the molded article.

Improved dimensional stability may be achieved by evenly cooling thepart so that all sections (i.e. thick and thin) have approximately thesame temperature at mold opening. A technical effect of the foregoingmay include even shrinkage of the molded article. Therefore, what isproposed herein is a component of a molding system having a heatdissipater that is configured to impart a profiled heat removal rate ona selected portion of a molded article that generally matches a heatdistribution therein. Generally speaking, the foregoing means that thatthe profiled heat removal rate is configured to vary with a thickness ofthe selected portion of the molded article. As such one or more thicksections of the molded article (i.e. section that have the most heat)may be cooled at a higher rate than one or more thin sections of themolded. Put another way, the invention proposes a heat dissipater for acomponent of the molding system that is configured to cool the selectedportion of the molded article in an asymmetric style that considers thespecific geometry thereof and that delivers selective cooling rates withhigher rates directed to the slower cooling sections (i.e. thickersections) and lower cooling rates directed at the faster cooling section(i.e. thinner sections).

Non-limiting embodiments of the heat dissipater include, for example,and without specific limitation, structures for conduction cooling ofthe selected portion of the molded article having one or both of athermal conductivity that varies as a function of a thickness of theselected portion of the molded article and a coolant channel that has aprofile that varies such that its separation distance to the moldedarticle varies inversely to a thickness of the selected portion of themolded article. Similarly, further non-limiting embodiments of the heatdissipater include, for example, and without specific limitation,structures for convective cooling of the selected portion of the moldedarticle having a flow guide with which to guide a flow of a treatmentfluid over the selected portion of the molded, wherein the flow has aprofile that varies such that its separation distance to the moldedarticle varies inversely to a thickness of the selected portion of themolded article.

Non-Limiting Embodiments

With reference to FIG. 1, there is depicted a section view through acomponent 100 of a molding system in accordance with a firstnon-limiting embodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removalrate on a selected portion of a molded article 120 that generallymatches a heat distribution therein. The component 100 is shown toinclude, amongst other things, a heat dissipater 130 with which toconduction cool the selected portion of the molded article 120 that isin contact with a heat pickup surface 110 thereof in accordance with aheat distribution therein. The heat dissipater 130 broadly includes afirst body 132 having a first thermal conductivity and a second body 140inset therein having a second thermal conductivity. The heat dissipater130 also includes a heat removal structure 150 in the form of a coolantchannel that is defined by the first body 132 through which a coolantmay be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. Alternatively, theheat removal structure 150 may be provided by other suitable means, suchas, for example, a thermoelectric device. A first portion of the heatpickup surface 110 is defined along the first body 132. A second portionof the heat pickup surface 110 is defined along the second body 140. Inthis non-limiting embodiment the first thermal conductivity of the firstbody 132 is greater than that of the second thermal conductivity of thesecond body 140 such that a relatively thin portion (indicated as havingthickness T1) of the molded article 120 that is in contact with thesecond portion of the heat pickup surface 110 is cooled at a slower ratethan a relatively thick portion (indicated as having thickness T2) ofthe molded article 120 that is in contact with the first portion of theheat pickup surface 110.

With reference to FIG. 2, there is depicted a section view through acomponent 200 of a molding system in accordance with a secondnon-limiting embodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removalrate on a selected portion of a molded article 220 that generallymatches a heat distribution therein. The component 200 is shown toinclude, amongst other things, a heat dissipater 230 with which toconduction cool the selected portion of the molded article 120 that isin contact with a heat pickup surface 210 thereof in accordance with aheat distribution therein. The heat dissipater 230 broadly includes afirst body 232 having a first thermal conductivity and a second body 240inset therein having a second thermal conductivity. The heat dissipater230 also includes a heat removal structure 250 in the form of a coolantchannel that is defined by the first body 232 through which a coolantmay be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. A first portion ofthe heat pickup surface 210 is defined along the first body 232. Thesecond body 240 is of varying depth (indicated as having depths D1 andD2), wherein a second portion of the heat pickup surface 210 is definedalong a first portion of the second body 240 having depth D1 (thickportion) and a third portion of the heat pickup surface 210 is definedalong a second portion of the second body 240 having depth D2 (thinportion). In this non-limiting embodiment the first thermal conductivityof the first body 232 is greater than that of the second thermalconductivity of the second body 240 and as a result, the thickestportion (indicated as having thickness T3) of the molded article 220that is in contact with the first portion of the heat pickup surface 210is cooled at a faster rate than the second and third portions of themolded article 220 that are in contact with the second and thirdportions of the heat pickup surface 210. In addition, because of thevarying depth of the second body 240, the thinnest portion (indicated ashaving thickness T1) of the molded article 220 that is in contact withthe second portion of the heat pickup surface 210 is cooled at a slowerrate than a middle portion (indicated as having thickness T2) of themolded article 220 that is in contact with the third portion of the heatpickup surface 210.

With reference to FIG. 3, there is depicted a section view through acomponent 300 of a molding system in accordance with a thirdnon-limiting embodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removalrate on a selected portion of a molded article 320 that generallymatches a heat distribution therein. The component 300 is shown toinclude, amongst other things, a heat dissipater 330 with which toconduction cool the selected portion of the molded article 320 that isin contact with a heat pickup surface 310 thereof in accordance with aheat distribution therein. The heat dissipater 330 broadly includes afirst body 332 having a first thermal conductivity and a second body 340inset therein having a second thermal conductivity. The heat dissipater330 also includes a heat removal structure 350 in the form of a coolantchannel that is defined by the first body 332 through which a coolantmay be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. A first portion ofthe heat pickup surface 310 is defined on the first body 332. A secondportion of the heat pickup surface 310 is defined along the second body342. In this non-limiting embodiment the first thermal conductivity ofthe first body 332 is less than the second thermal conductivity of thesecond body 340 such that a relatively thick portion (indicated ashaving thickness T1) of the molded article 320 that is in contact withthe second portion of the heat pickup surface 310 is cooled at a fasterrate than a relatively thin portion (indicated as having thickness T2)of the molded article 320 that is in contact with the first portion ofthe heat pickup surface 310.

Further non-limiting embodiments will described next that arespecifically directed to the cooling of molded articles in the form ofpreforms of the type that are blow moldable to form containers. Thatbeing said, these specific non-limiting executions may have broaderapplicability to the cooling of other varieties of molded articles (notshown).

With reference to FIG. 4, there is depicted a non-limiting example ofsuch a molded article 420 (i.e. preform). The preform 420 broadlyincludes a neck portion 421, a gate portion 422 and a body portion 423extending therebetween. The neck portion 421 is configured to receive aclosure (also known as a cap) for a capping thereof. The neck portion ischaracterized by a cylindrical wall 424 having a thread 425 protrudingon an outer surface thereof. The thread 425 is configured to releasablyengage a complementary thread on the interior of the closure (notshown). The thread 425 is also shown to be interrupted by a number ofaxial slots 426 (i.e. vents). The neck finish 421 also includes a pilferband 427 positioned beneath the thread 425 with which to cooperate withcams that are defined on a tamper evident band (not shown) of theclosure (not shown). Lastly, the neck portion 421 further includes asupport ledge 428 positioned beneath the pilfer band 427 with which tocooperate with downstream handling equipment, blow molds and the like.

With reference to FIG. 5, there is depicted a section view through theneck portion 421 of the molded article 420 that reveals the undulatingvarying thicknesses (indicated as T1, T2, T3, T4) of the variousportions thereof.

The thickness of the cylindrical wall 424 portion is known in thebottling industry as the ‘E-wall’. With the on-going trend oflight-weighting threads and in particular thinning out the E-wall, tosave on molding material, threads have become more and morein-homogeneous in terms of overall cross-sectional thickness.Unfortunately, this in-homogeneity in cross-sectional thickness has ledto a high level of geometric deviation from the ideal part geometry. Itis believed that this geometric deviation may be the result of unevenpart shrinkage that in turn relates to the manner in which the preformis cooled in the mold.

As such, it is proposed to configure one or more components of themolding system 402 (FIG. 6) to include a heat dissipater (examples ofwhich will be described next) that is configured to impart a profiledheat removal rate on the neck portion 421 of the molded article 420 thatgenerally matches a heat distribution therein.

With reference to FIG. 6, there is depicted a schematic representationof selected portions of the molding system 402 in accordance with anon-limiting embodiment. The molding system 402 broadly includes,amongst other things, a mold 440, a first post-mold device 450 and asecond post-mold device 460. Not shown are a clamp unit for opening andclosing of a first half 442 and a second half 444 of the mold 440(relatively movable along the indicated directions) and an associatedmelt preparation unit for preparing and transferring molding materialinto the mold 440. Without going into unnecessary detail that is wellknown to those of skill in the art, that the mold 440 is configured tomold the molded articles 420. The first post-mold device 450 isconfigured to retrieve 440 (the first post-mold device 450 being movablealong the indicated directions) and condition the molded articles(within carriers 452) from the mold 440. Lastly, the second post-molddevice 460 is configured to engage the molded articles within thecarriers 452 (the second post-mold device 460 being movable along theindicated directions) to further condition the molded articles (usingvarious post-mold devices 900, 1000). A more detailed description of theforegoing may be referenced, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,780 toDomodossola et al, published on Sep. 12, 2006.

With reference to FIG. 7, there is depicted a mold stack 486 for use inthe mold 440 (FIG. 6). The mold stack 486 broadly includes a first stackportion 476 and a second stack portion 484 that are associated, in use,with the first mold half 442 and the second mold half 444, respectively.A molding cavity 470 is definable, in use, between the first stackportion 476 and the second stack portion 484 within which the moldedarticle 420 of FIG. 4 is moldable.

The first stack portion 476 broadly includes various components (i.e.mold components), amongst others, of a core insert 700 and a splitinsert 400. The split insert 400 and the core 700 cooperate, in use, todefine a neck portion of the molding cavity 470 (within which the neckportion of the molded article 420 is moldable). The core insert 700 isshown to include a heat removal structure 750 in the form of a coolantchannel. The split insert 400 is also shown to include a heat removalstructure 450 in the form of a coolant channel.

The second stack portion includes various mold components, amongstothers, of a cavity insert 480, a gate insert 482 and an interfacecomponent 800. The cavity insert 480 and the core 700 cooperate, in use,to define a body portion of the molding cavity 470 (within which thebody portion 423 of the molded article 420 is moldable). The gate insert482 and the core 700 cooperate, in use, to define a gate portion of themolding cavity 470 (within which the gate portion 422 of the moldedarticle 420 is moldable). The cavity insert 480 is shown to include aheat removal structure 492 in the form of a coolant channel. Lastly, thegate insert 482 is also shown to include a heat removal structure 496 inthe form of a coolant channel.

With reference to FIG. 8, there is depicted a section view through themold component 400 (henceforth referred to as a split insert) of themold stack 486 (FIG. 7) in accordance with a fourth non-limitingembodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removal rate on aselected portion of a molded article 420 that generally matches a heatdistribution therein. The split insert 400 are split into a first splitinsert 400-1 and a second split insert 400-2 along the centre lineshown.

The split insert 400 is shown to include, amongst other things, a heatdissipater 430 with which to conduction cool the selected portion of themolded article 420 that is in contact with a heat pickup surface 410thereof in accordance with a heat distribution therein. The heatdissipater 430 broadly includes a first body 432 having a first thermalconductivity, a second body 440 having a second thermal conductivity anda third body 442 having a third thermal conductivity. The second andthird bodies 440 and 442 are inset into the first body 432. The heatdissipater 430 also includes heat removal structures 450, 452 defined inthe first body 432 in the form of coolant channels through which acoolant may be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. The secondand third bodies 440 and 442 as well as the coolant channels may have agenerally arcuate profile that follow, in general, a shape of the moldedarticle 420. A first and a second portion of the heat pickup surface 410are defined along the first body 432. A third portion of the heat pickupsurface 410 is defined along the second body 440. Lastly, a fourthportion of the heat pickup surface 410 is defined along the third body442. In this non-limiting embodiment the first thermal conductivity ofthe first body 432 is greater than that of the second thermal and thirdthermal conductivities of the second and third bodies 440, 442. Thesecond and third thermal conductivities of the second and third bodiesare generally the same. As such, the relatively thin cylindrical wall424 and axial slot portions 426 of the molded article 420 that are incontact with the first portion and the second portion of the heat pickupsurface 410 are cooled at a slower rate than the relatively thick threadportions 425 of the molded article 420 that are in contact with thethird and fourth portions of the heat pickup surface 410.

With reference to FIG. 9, there is depicted a section view through themold component 500 (henceforth referred to as a split insert) for use inthe mold stack 486 (FIG. 7) in accordance with a fifth non-limitingembodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removal rate on aselected portion of a molded article 520 that generally matches a heatdistribution therein. The split insert 500 is split into a first splitinsert 500-1 and a second split insert 500-2 along the centre lineshown.

The split insert 500 is shown to include, amongst other things, a heatdissipater 530 with which to conduction cool the selected portion of themolded article 420 that is in contact with a heat pickup surface 510thereof in accordance with a heat distribution therein. The heatdissipater 530 broadly includes a first body 532 having a first thermalconductivity and a second body 540 (which may also be an air filledvoid) having a second thermal conductivity. The second body 540 is inset(in this case fully embedded) into the first body 532. The heatdissipater 530 also includes heat removal structures 550, 552 defined inthe first body 532 in the form of coolant channels through which acoolant may be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. The secondbody 540 as well as the coolant channels may have a generally arcuateprofile that follow, in general, a shape of the molded article 520.Moreover, the coolant channels are positioned and otherwise extend inthe first body 532 for exclusively cooling of the thread portion 425 ofthe molded article 420. The second body 540 is located between the heatpickup surface 510 and the heat removal structure 550 (coolant channel)adjacent to the axial portion 426. In operation, the second body 540serves to lower a heat transfer rate from the portion of the heat pickupsurface that contacts the axial portion 426 of the molded article 420.

With reference to FIG. 10, there is depicted a section view through themold component 600 (henceforth referred to as a split insert) for use inthe mold stack 486 (FIG. 7) in accordance with a sixth non-limitingembodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removal rate on aselected portion of a molded article 420 that generally matches a heatdistribution therein. The split insert 600 is split into a first splitinsert 600-1 and a second split insert 600-2 along the centre lineshown.

The split insert 600 is shown to include, amongst other things, a heatdissipater 630 with which to conduction cool the selected portion of themolded article 420 that is in contact with a heat pickup surface 610thereof in accordance with a heat distribution therein. The heatdissipater 630 broadly includes a first body 632 having heat removalstructures 650, 652 defined therein in the form of coolant channelsthrough which a coolant may be circulated, in use, to remove heattherefrom. These coolant channels are profiled such that a separationdistance to the heat pickup surface 610 varies inversely to a thicknessof the selected portion of the molded article 420. As such, the coolantchannels are shown to be closer to the relatively thick thread portion425 and further away from the relatively thin cylindrical wall 424 andaxial slot portion 426, whereby a profiled heat removal rate is impartedon the selected portion of the molded article 420 that generally matchesa heat distribution therein.

With reference to FIG. 11, there is depicted a section view through themold component 700 (henceforth referred to as a core insert) for use inthe mold stack 486 (FIG. 7) in accordance with a seventh non-limitingembodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removal rate on aselected portion of the molded article 420 that generally matches a heatdistribution therein. The core insert 700 is shown to include, amongstother things, a heat dissipater 730 with which to conduction cool theselected portion of the molded article 420 that is in contact with aheat pickup surface 710 thereof in accordance with a heat distributiontherein. The heat dissipater 730 broadly includes a first body 732having a first thermal conductivity, a second body 740 inset thereinhaving a second thermal conductivity, a third body 744 inset thereinhaving a third thermal conductivity and a fourth body 740 inset thereinhaving a fourth thermal conductivity. The heat dissipater 730 alsoincludes a heat removal structure 750 (FIG. 7) in the form of a coolantchannel that is defined by the first body 732 through which a coolantmay be circulated, in use, to remove heat therefrom. A first portion ofthe heat pickup surface 710 is defined along the first body 732 forcooling the thread portion of the neck portion at a first heat removalrate. A second portion of the heat pickup surface 710 is defined alongthe second body 740 for cooling the cylindrical wall of the neck portionat a second heat removal rate. A third portion of the heat pickupsurface 710 is defined along the third body 742 for cooling the pilferband of the neck portion at a third heat removal rate. Lastly, a fourthportion of the heat pickup surface 710 is defined along the fourth body744 for cooling the support ledge portion of the neck portion at afourth heat removal rate. In this non-limiting embodiment the firstthermal conductivity of the first body 732 is greater than that of thesecond thermal conductivity of the second body 740, whereby the threadportion of the molded article 420 is cooled at a faster rate than thecylindrical wall portion. In this non-limiting embodiment the thirdthermal conductivity of the third body 742 and the fourth thermalconductivity of the fourth body 744 are selected to enhance the heatflow from the relatively thick pilfer band and support ledge portions ofthe molded article 420. In essence, the relatively thick thread, pilferband, and support ledge portions of the molded article 420 may again becooled at a faster rate than the cylindrical wall.

With reference to FIG. 12, there is depicted a section view through themold component 800 (henceforth referred to as an interface component)for use in the mold stack 486 (FIG. 7) in accordance with an eighthnon-limiting embodiment with which to impart a profiled heat removalrate on a selected portion of a molded article 420 (albeit indirectly)that generally matches a heat distribution therein. The interfacecomponent 800 (sometimes called a cavity flange) provides an interfacebetween the cavity insert 480 (FIG. 7) and the split insert 400 (FIG.7). The interface component 800 is shown to include, amongst otherthings, a heat dissipater 830 with which to conduction cool the selectedportion of the molded article 120 that is in contact with the splitinsert 400. The heat dissipater 830 broadly includes a first body 832having a first thermal conductivity and a plurality of bodies 840 (whichmay also be an air filled void) having a second thermal conductivityembedded therein. The heat dissipater 830 also includes a heat removalstructure 850 in the form of a pair of coolant channels that are definedby the first body 832 through which a coolant may be circulated, in use,to remove heat therefrom. The plurality of bodies 840 are arranged toprovide a profiled heat removal rate on a heat pickup surface 810 forproviding a profiled cooling of the selected portion of the moldedarticle in the split insert 400 that generally matches a heatdistribution therein.

With reference to FIG. 13, there is depicted a section view through thepost-mold components 452, 900 and 1000 for use in the first post-molddevice 450 (FIG. 6) and the second post-mold device 460 (FIG. 6).

The post-mold component 452 (henceforth carrier 452) is configured tocarry the molded article 452 therein. As such it defines a cavity forreceiving the body and gate portions of the molded article 420. Thecarrier 452 includes a heat dissipation structure in the form of acoolant channel defined therein.

The post-mold components 900, 100 also include heat dissipaters 930,1030 that define a flow guide 910, 1010 with which to guide a flow of atreatment fluid (e.g. air) over the selected portion of the moldedarticle 420, wherein the flow guide 910, 1010 has a profile that variessuch that its separation distance to the molded article 420 variesinversely to a thickness of the selected portion of the molded article420. The post-mold component 900 may be shaped like a pin. The post-moldcomponent 1000 may be shaped like a cup.

The foregoing non-limiting embodiments of the components 100, 200, 300,400, 500, 600, 700, 800. 900, 1000 may be manufactured by any suitablemethod. For example, they may be manufactured using traditionalmanufacturing techniques of free-form fabrication methods such as directmetal laser sintering, as described in the text “Laser Induced Materialsand Processes for Rapid Prototyping” by L. Lu et al., ISBN0-7923-7400-2.

Thus, having described various non-limiting embodiments of the presentinvention the description shall now turn to a method of cooling themolded article 120, 220, 320, 420 using the foregoing components of themolding system. The method 1000 broadly includes the step of:

Step 1110

Cooling a selected portion of a molded article 120, 220, 320, 420 with acomponent 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000 of a moldingsystem 402, wherein a heat dissipater 130, 230, 330, 430, 530, 630, 730,830, 930, 1030 therein imparts a profiled heat removal rate on theselected portion of the molded article 120, 220, 320, 420 that generallymatches a heat distribution therein.

The method may further include contacting the selected portion of themolded article 120, 220, 320, 420 with a heat pickup surface 110, 210,310, 410, 510, 610, 710 of the heat dissipater 130, 230, 330, 430, 530,630, 730, 830.

The method may further include contacting another component 400, 500,600 of the molding system 402 with a heat pickup surface 810 of the heatdissipater 830 for cooling the selected portion of the molded article420 therein.

The contacting the selected portion of the molded article 420 within thecomponent 400, 500, 600, 700 may happen with a molding of the moldedarticle 420 therein.

The method may further include positioning the component 900, 1000 inrelation to the selected portion of the molded article 420 such that aflow guide 910, 1010 of the heat dissipater 930, 1030 is positioned toguide a flow of a treatment fluid over the selected portion of themolded article 420.

The positioning the component 900, 1000 in relation to the selectedportion of the molded article 420 may happen with a post-moldconditioning of the molded article 420.

As previously discussed, the molded article 420 may be a preform of thetype for blow molding into a container and the selected portion thereofis a neck portion 421 that includes a cylindrical wall 424 having athread 425 protruding therefrom and the cooling 1110 the selectedportion of the molded article 420 includes cooling the thread 425 at afirst rate and the cylindrical wall 424 at a second rate.

Furthermore, the thread 425 may be interrupted by at least one slot 426,wherein the cooling 1110 the selected portion of the molded article 420includes cooling the at least one slot 426 at a third rate.

Furthermore, the neck portion 421 may further includes a pilfer band 427beneath the thread 425, wherein the cooling 1110 the selected portion ofthe molded article 420 includes cooling the pilfer band 427 at a fourthrate.

Lastly, the neck portion 421 may further include a support ledge 428beneath the pilfer band 427, wherein the cooling 1110 the selectedportion of the molded article 420 includes cooling the support ledge 428at a fifth rate.

It is noted that the foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinentnon-limiting embodiments. It will be clear to those skilled in the artthat modifications to the disclosed non-embodiment(s) can be effectedwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. As such, thedescribed non-limiting embodiment(s) ought to be considered to be merelyillustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications.Other beneficial results can be realized by applying the non-limitingembodiments in a different manner or modifying the invention in waysknown to those familiar with the art. This includes the mixing andmatching of features, elements and/or functions between variousnon-limiting embodiment(s) is expressly contemplated herein so that oneof ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure thatfeatures, elements and/or functions of one embodiment may beincorporated into another embodiment as skill in the art wouldappreciate from this disclosure that features, elements and/or functionsof one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment asappropriate, unless described otherwise, above. Although the descriptionis made for particular arrangements and methods, the intent and conceptthereof may be suitable and applicable to other arrangements andapplications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A component of a molding system, comprising: aheat dissipater that is configured to impart a profiled heat removalrate on a selected portion of a molded article that generally matches aheat distribution therein; the heat dissipater defines a heat pickupsurface; the heat dissipater includes a heat removal structure forremoval of heat therefrom; the heat dissipater includes a first bodyhaving a first thermal conductivity that includes at least one voidembedded therein with which to vary a heat removal rate imparted, inuse, on the selected portion of the molded article in accordance withthe heat distribution therein.
 2. The component of claim 1, wherein: theheat pickup surface is configured to contact the selected portion of themolded article for removal of heat therefrom.
 3. The component of claim1, wherein: the heat pickup surface is configured to contact anothercomponent of the molding system for imparting the profiled heat removalrate on the selected portion of the molded article therein.
 4. Thecomponent of claim 1, wherein: the heat dissipater has thermalconductivity that varies with a thickness of the selected portion of themolded article.
 5. The component of claim 4, wherein: the heatdissipater includes relatively low thermal conductivity material next torelatively thin portions of the selected portion of the molded article.6. The component of claim 4, wherein: the heat dissipater includesrelatively high thermal conductivity material next to relatively thicksections of the selected portion of the molded article.
 7. The componentof claim 1, wherein: the heat removal structure is a coolant channel. 8.The component of claim 7, wherein: the coolant channel has a profilethat varies such that its separation distance to the heat pickup surfacevaries inversely to a thickness of the selected portion of the moldedarticle.
 9. The component of claim 1 is a mold component for use in amold stack of a mold.
 10. The component of claim 9, wherein: the heatpickup surface defines a portion of a molding cavity.
 11. The componentof claim 9, is one of a split insert, a core insert, or an interfacecomponent of the mold stack.
 12. The component of claim 11, wherein: themolded article is a preform of the type for blow molding into acontainer and the selected portion thereof is a neck portion thatincludes a cylindrical wall having a thread protruding therefrom; andthe heat dissipater is configured to cool the thread at a first rate andthe cylindrical wall at a second rate.
 13. The component of claim 12,wherein: the thread is interrupted by at least one slot; and the heatdissipater is configured to cool the at least one slot at a third rate.14. The component of claim 12, wherein: the neck portion furtherincludes a pilfer band beneath the thread; and the heat dissipater isconfigured to cool the pilfer band at a fourth rate.
 15. The componentof claim 12, wherein: the neck portion further includes a support ledgebeneath the pilfer band; and the heat dissipater is configured to coolthe support ledge at a fifth rate.